The Adventures of a Christian Mom, Grandma and cancer surviver!

I’m guessing here, but I’d say between 4 & 5 inches of the white stuff descended upon us yesterday. Last night around 11-something p.m. husband & I were out there attempting to help middle son get his car unstuck from our ‘hill’. The roads were horrible and our ‘hill’ is just steep enough to require a really running start to get up it – son has a Honda Civic – read that: NO WEIGHT for a running start! First he was stuck on the hill, then we got him free; he drove around the block and tried again. This time he got stuck parallel to the road – half ON the sidewalk, half on the road – facing oncoming traffic! Thankfully there were only a few cars out – and even then some ‘lovely’ person honked their horn (more like laid on their horn for quite awhile) as if to say “Get out of my way!) As if it didn’t already LOOK like that’s what we were attempting to do! Crazy! Got him out of that, another trip around the block and THIS TIME he made a huge attempt and made it safely up the driveway! YAY!Count that as THREE ‘stucks’ and one success; what a night! To add insult to injury – we got an automated phone call from the school district informing us all schools were closed – at 4:58 A.M.!

Today finds me on the telephone AND using Facebook & emails to contact all 64 special needs students to inform them there will be NO Friends Group tonight. Every time, I repeat: EVERY TIME I do this there’s a problem . . . and it’s almost always MINE! This time there were a good 5-6 errors on my sheet. At first I thought it was MY typing, but as the calling progressed I discovered it was actually the problem of my new program: EXCEL! Somehow, when adding or subtracting information from a line, it managed to copy the line TWICE! I called a group home, got into my spiel: “Hi, this is Pam from Friends Group at (blank, blank) church” and then I hear “Yes, Pam – you just called me!” WHAT? Look over my sheet – sure enough, same phone # in two spaces for two different people! Great! Apologize and move on. Fun . . . not. Still not exactly sure how it all happened but on one I dialed the # and, while it was ringing I’m thinking: “This number is VERY familiar!” It hits me: it’s the phone # of the guy I used to drive to Friends a year ago (he’s since moved). How did HIS number end up 2 lines BEFORE his information? Glad I caught it – would have felt really goofy when saying the name of who I THOUGHT I was calling, only to find out differently! Sigh . . . Well, I’m down to ONE number now. Every time I call both cell phone #’s for the parents I get: “The number you’re calling has a voice message that hasn’t been set up yet.” No RING, no answering machine – just that. I’ll keep calling, hoping that eventually they’ll answer, otherwise I’ve done all I can do. The church has been called then they’re putting a sign on the door saying no Friends Group. Best we can do. We’ve had it happen where some of our students were dropped off and LEFT AFTER we thought all was well and everyone was contacted. Sigh . . . I guess it’s to be expected when you’re dealing with over 64 people. Not exactly the day I thought I’d be having.

It’s now almost 4 o’clock – I’ve been at this since before noon. Don’t exactly know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the day – haven’t thought that far ahead! Got part of the baby afghan sewn together (1 1/2 rows), maybe I’ll work on that for awhile. Want to go back to reading the LesCroart book “The Hearing” – it’s the kind of book that requires you to continually read, otherwise you lose track of exactly WHO each person is, and their connection to the main character. (Especially since this is a lawyer/court story, there’s LOTS of extra people and sub-plots).

NOTE: Preserve mixture can be cooked in the
microwave; microwave preserves, peppers &
water in microwaveable bowl on High 1 minute
or until heated through, stirring every 30 seconds.
Stir in onions, then continue with recipe.

(recipe: Kraft foods)
=================================

Well, right now the weather is sitting at 34 degrees F. and the snow outside is wet and heavy and MELTING some! YAY! However, there’s a 80% chance of more snow tonight, 60% chance tomorrow (great – I have a 10:30 a.m. doctor’s appmt. – just a check up). Oh well, it IS what it IS, eh? I’m just grateful that we have a nice, warm house; everyone is (for the most part) in good health (I’m feeling stronger every day – just a little stuffed up now); we have food in the house and we’re able to get out of the driveway (Husband shoveled it to his heart’s content today). Life is good!

Hope you are warm, comfortable, in good health and able to say, with me: LIFE IS GOOD!

Yep, it’s Michigan and YEP, we’re due for 3-5 inches of the white stuff by evening. I told my husband it looks like Spring outside: 40+ degrees, clear skies and what’s left of the last snow is now melting. Well – I spoke too soon: it’s now grey and raining; 34 degrees F. (Perfect temp for snow). I stayed home from my Bible study simply because I’m still coughing and didn’t want to alarm anyone that maybe I had something contagious! (I don’t – am feeling stronger and head is clearer). Tonight was ‘supposed’ to be the Knit/Crochet Movie Night (with all the great foods) but I had to cancel that because the ladies were worried about going home in a snow storm (who can blame them?). Now my day is ‘free’ – did a few errands, shopped a bit for a few food stuffs and now I’m enjoying my lovely Tim Horton’s COFFEE (love the stuff!) while writing to you. Among my ‘things to do’ list for today are: (1) Color my HAIR! The grey roots are really showing! (2) Sew together the baby afghan! (I keep procrastinating about it. It’s not the sewing I mind, it’s knowing that after that I have a good 6-8 rows of crocheted border to do – sigh). (3) finish paying house bills (DID THAT! Yay!) (4) clear out kitchen sink, wash pots & pans that don’t go in dishwasher, finish loading dishwasher and run it. Not a LOT of stuff to do, just need to GET TO IT!

Gas Prices: How’s your area for that subject? I needed to get gas today and the lowest price around was $3.86/9. Who would have thought I’d get excited about that HIGH a price? Guess it’s better than $4.00 a gallon, eh?

On prices: went to the Post Office to mail out the special needs groups newsletters (got them done Monday – Yay, me!) and, for the first time, purchased some International Forever Stamps. I’d read in the newspaper that they are now issuing FOREVER stamps – you can mail a letter ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD for $1.10!!! Is that not fantastic? I remember mailing cards to Canada and it cost very close to $1.00; yesterday I mailed a card to a missionary friend in Durban, South Africa – for ONLY ONE DOLLAR TEN CENTS! Also wrote to my cousins in Canada and told them about the postal stamp (then thought: you Bozo – THEIR mail is NOT the US Mail – they STILL have the very high postage!)
Oh well, I was happy about it!

I’ve decided that since we’re probably going to have to cancel my special needs group tomorrow night, dinner for tonight can be something I can take time cooking – likewise tomorrow night. Tonight is a family favorite:
Pierogies & Polish Sausage (with sour cream, of course). Tomorrow will probably be either homemade pizza or Enchiladas. (Glad I’m finally feeling well enough to cook!)

Books: Started a book I think I read years ago by John LeCroart: “The Hearing”. Wasn’t planning on reading for a good 3 1/2-4 hours last night but had to force myself to quit when it was almost 2:30 in the A.M.! It’s a lawyer/court case story but intriguing enough to keep my interest (especially since I’m STILL trying to guess ‘who done it’!)

===================

Baked Spaghetti

12 oz – 1 lb. spaghetti, cooked

accordg to pkg directions

1 lb ground beef

1 C. chopped onions

1 C. chopped green pepper

1 can mushrooms, drained

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 can creamed soup (your choice)

1/4 C. water

1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

–

Brown meat; drain & add onions & peppers,

cook until soft. Add tomatoes, mushrooms &

spices. Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 minutes.

Place mixture (except cream soup, water &

Parmesan) in a big bowl; mix. Place in a

9 X 13 pan. In a small bowl, add water to

cream soup & mix well. Spread over spaghetti

mixture. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese &

bake 35-40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes

before serving.

(recipe:MomsMenu.com)

—————————

Snickers Cake

–

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 jar creamy peanut butter

1 tub Cool Whip

1 jar caramel syrup

1 1/2 C. unsalted peanuts

1 bottle chocolate syrup

1 1/2 C. Toll House peanut butter &

chocolate chips

3 large eggs

1 1/3 C. water

1/3 C. oil

1 tub chocolate frosting

–

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Prepare cake mix accordg to pkg directions.

Grease 2 round cake pans; pour in batter &

bake 29 minutes. Combine peanut butter &

Cool Whip; beat until smooth; set aside. This

will be used to ice the first layer.

When cake is completely cooled, ice top of

first layer with peanut butter mixture. Place

second layer on top of first, ice sides of cake

with chocolate frosting. Ice top of cake with

chocolate frosting, then spread on peanuts &

chocolate chips, syrup & caramel.

(recipe: Paul-justapinch.com)

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Easy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

1/2 lb. fettuccine, uncooked*

2 C. fresh broccoli florets**

1/4 C. zesty Italian salad dressing

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts,

cut into bite-sized pieces

1 2/3 C. milk

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

–

Cook pasta in large saucepan accordg

to pkg directions, omitting salt – add

broccoli to boiling water for last 2
minutes. Heat dressing in large non-
stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add

chicken, cook 5 minutes or until done,

stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining

ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring

constantly; cook 1-2 minutes or until

sauce is well blended & heated through.
Drain pasta mixture; place in large bowl.

Hope you’re enjoying yourself, perhaps relaxing a bit? After reading through the recipes, it’s the kind of day that makes me want to cook up a big ole’ pot of soup (not that I’m going to, but it sort of ‘begs’ for that). A few of the above I found rather ‘interesting’ – like the Valentine Meringues; they don’t seem hard to do AND would be a nice treat for either a Ladies group OR young children. The Oven-Baked Crumb Potatoes sound easy, too and not a lot of ingredients. I try, when chosing recipes for you, to find ones that don’t cost a lot, have few ingredients (or, mostly, ingredients you probably have in your kitchen). When sometimes necessary, I try to highlight something you might need to pick up (like the Ramen Noodles). We ‘have’ Ramen noodles in our house (only because middle son likes them) so I thought it was interesting to find a recipe using just the noodles. Yes, I DO know there’s at least one site for JUST ramen noodle recipes – I remember when said son first became enamored of them and came home all excited after hearing about said site. They’re ok, I guess – IF you’re into LOTS OF SALT!!!

Anyway, just looked outside again – still ‘just’ rain – YAY! (she said, knowing that this is Michigan – LAND OF SNOW!) It’s coming but the good thing is: (as far as I know, anyway) I don’t have to go out in it today/tonight! (Hey, be happy for the little things, right? Sort of like the expression: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff because, in the end, it’s ALL small stuff!”

Still stuffed up with a few coughs, but am seeing ‘the end of the tunnel’. I stayed home from church today simply because I didn’t want others to think I had some sort of ‘creeping crud’ and because I knew I couldn’t sing in the choir. Yes, I ‘could’ have just sat there, but I think the coughing might be disturbing to others. Am feeling like I have more energy to get things done: worked on the special needs group’s next newsletter due out this week, updated the attendance files for the group and adding more recipes to my blog files.

Our weather is bright & sunny – in the mid 30’s. They’re predicting more snow, but only light flurries, so that’s good. Tuesday night is the Knit Group’s Movie night and so far, 12 have signed up – that’s the biggest number EVER! I’m looking forward to it and hope I’ll be able to smell/taste by then because one of the ladies is bringing her mom’s recipe: Cannoli Cake! (I LOVE cannoli’s!!!). (one good side effect of being sick – I’ve dropped down 3 lbs. and BELIEVE ME: I can USE the loss!). Been wanting to cook but not feeling the energy; my husband keeps telling me to let the guys get rid of the leftovers, so we’ve been ‘cruising’ on leftovers for about three days now. (He just announced that there’s only 1 piece of Chicken Parmesan left – he’s having that for lunch along with the last of the Garlic-Butter-Parmesan noodles.) I’m planning on meatloaf for dinner, tossed salad and maybe mashed potatoes or baked – depends on how I feel at the time.

Going over my recipes, I’m amazed at how many are either chicken or desserts! Oh well – they all sound good to me!

(REMINDER: The recipes I post on my blog are NOT mine- I note the source below each recipe.)

Been trying to catch up on craft projects these past few days. Managed to knit a pair of baby booties for my friend in Ohio. Still want to attempt to knit a baby sweater, then finish sewing together all the crocheted squares for her blanket. I also had to remember she’s having a Caesarian delivery, so her baby will be rather large (that makes a difference when knitting hats!).

Not much else going on – have to drive youngest to work in a few minutes. My husband has been really good about driving him or picking him up for me. Yesterday was the first time I’d driven in about 3-4 days! If all ‘holds up’, I should be pretty much over this in a few days – really hoping that’s so. I keep remembering my husband’s Mantra: “Remember – for every ONE day you were/are sick, it takes your body THREE days to recover!” Sigh . . .

Stay healthy if you can, keep warm, relax and try to do something you enjoy at least once every day! Life’s short – eat dessert first!

Well, it had to happen – eventually. I’m working through a ‘nice’ sinus infection. Right now it’s day 3 – not too bad, it isn’t in my chest. I’m still amazed that the Lord brought me through over a year and several months totally healthy (even during and after the radiation treatments!) before I finally came down with an illness – not too bad, indeed! Babysat grandson yesterday for several hours, relying almost totally on my husband to keep grandson amused while I sat in a chair feeling crappy. I’m bound & determined that I will get over this quickly – we’ll see.

It’s been a full week, with more activities for next week but tomorrow I’m ‘free’ of specific duties (except maybe driving youngest back & forth to work). Weather-wise, we got almost 3 inches of the white stuff earlier today. It looks to be the fluffy stuff; husband reported he went through almost ‘white-out’ conditions around 9:30 driving youngest to work; glad the snow has stopped!

Since my energy levels are not very high, am just going to post recipes:

Today started out like any other day – a little gray outside, around 40 degrees with no new snow. I spent a short while crocheting more squares for the baby blanket but really didn’t feel all that motivated to ‘do’ anything. That changed rather quickly when we suddenly lost power. Normally we would get a short outage, then it would come back on . . . not today. Totally out from around 11:04 a.m. until a little after 6 p.m. this evening! I’m SO glad we have a gas hot water heater; that enabled my sons to be able to take showers AND it gave me something to ‘do’ – hand wash the dishes & pots in the sink. Along with that I got several other little tasks I’d sort of been avoiding, done. Addressed all the envelopes for my next special needs group newsletter due out before the end of the month; put away some dishes I’d sort of been working around (you know – those larger casserole dishes that you have to re-arrange the cupboards to accommodate); loaded the dishwasher with regular dishes (was going to run the dishwasher to day and do a few loads of laundry – oh well, laundry can wait until tomorrow). I was glad the small tasks got done but then began to notice the cold, so wrapped up in my afghan Momma made me and read some – eventually fell asleep for awhile. My husband kept calling the recording for the electric company to get an update on when we would get power again. First it said between 4 & 6, then 5 & 6, then 5 to 7 p.m. When we finally DID get it on again, he went on line to look at the area affected and found out it was a VERY large area – including another large area North of us. Each area affected over 1,000 people – I was surprised! There was no explanation as to ‘why’ but it might be in tomorrow’s newspaper. Glad we didn’t have any small children. Reminds me of the time, many years ago when our oldest was about two when we had an ice storm that affected huge areas (my friend Momma remembers that one!). This went on (in our area) for a week and a half! Not a fun time, for sure.

I would have written a blog sooner, but have been rather busy. Last week was a bit of a blur – lots of driving involved AND babysitting grandson. He was out of school Wednesday because he said his stomach bothered him, then we also had him Thursday. Lots of games of dominoes, Cootie, Don’t Wake the Dragon and other board games were played.

(He beat me at Cootie!)

Also on last week’s agenda – youngest passed his Driver’s Ed. written permit test. He was supposed to begin driving lessons this evening, but the company called and said that the other two people in the class had just cancelled; now he has to wait until March 11th.

Friday brought more activity – we bought another car. Husband decided he always wanted a Jeep, so we got a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, 2 door, black with 14,000 miles! Great price, great deal. This will help GREATLY when it comes to youngest needing to be driven places (like next Sunday evening – I can’t be in 2 places at once: He gets off work at 6 p.m. and evening church starts at 6 – I would have been at church for choir practice 4:45 – 6p.m. but wouldn’t be able to get to where he works by that time – it’s about 25 minutes away. With our new car, my husband can pick him up!). Friday evening was Gym Night for my special needs group. We didn’t have a very big turnout (around 17) but they all had lots of fun; we had tons of hot dogs leftover!

Well, that’s the ‘happenings’ around here lately, now on to the recipes!

Ingredient note: Steel-cut oats (sometimes
labeled “Irish oatmeal”, looks like small
pebbles. They are toasted oat groats, the oat
kernel that has been removed from the husk
and cut into 2-3 pieces. Do NOT substitute
regular rolled oats, which have a shorter
cooking time, for this crockpot recipe.

My husband just announced the house heat is now up to 70 degrees F.; now we can start feeling WARM! I’m off, in a few minutes, to pick up two deep-dish Jet’s Pizzas & cheesy bread – I figure we earned them! (We don’t do ‘take out’ food very often, so it’s both a treat AND a reward for ‘enduring the cold’ . . . wink!)

This morning was Ladie’s Bible Study (10 a.m. – noon), then I had a few quick errands to do. Since there is a Kroger’s near church, I dropped in there to pick up my few groceries. That’s when I saw them . . . PACZKI’S:

(Guess I should ‘translate’ – these are pronounced: POONch-Keys; very rich,large, VERY ladened with calories Polish donuts made to celebrate “Fat Tuesday” February 12th – that’s the day BEFORE Lent starts. They are fried, (usually) jelly or cream-filled donuts. They were originally created to clear out pantries of fruits, sugar & fat for Lent. They come in all sorts of fillings: raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, lemon, PRUNE (traditional), Bavarian cream (traditional), and cream cheese (there are probably others I haven’t listed). I bought some last week at a different store but they weren’t that good – KROGER’S cream cheese filled were the ‘to die for’ kind! I brought them home, cut one in half, ate it then just couldn’t resist – I ate the other half too! (For me, that’s a HUGE thing – I don’t really like sweets that much and really don’t care for glazed donuts). These were rich, creamy and all-together just plain YUMMY! I’m going to have trouble staying away from the remaining ones in the box! Saw a cute post on Facebook today: “Today is called ‘Fat Tuesday’. In fairness, I propose that tomorrow be called: “Gee, you look slender Wednesday!” (from Jim Hunt cartoons). So true – SO GLAD they only are available ONCE A YEAR! One of my son’s said: Imagine if they WERE available year-round – our planet couldn’t handle the extra weight and would shift off it’s axis!”

Today is a MUCH better day than yesterday. Got quite a few errands done: stopped at Salvation Army store (because it’s close to church) and found some really nice, cream colored very fine yarn ($2.99). I have another bunch of it in blue (this ‘bunch’ was not labeled, nor is the one I have at home – think it’s wool, not sure). I want to knit a scarf for the little old lady we drive to church. I’m thinking that the two yarns knit in one scarf would be really pretty – we’ll see. Tomorrow I’m planning on going to JoAnn Fabrics to buy some yarn to make the BABY BOY afghan I wrote about yesterday. Perhaps in a mint green? We’ll see. At times I’m torn with wanting to do a really pretty, sort of complicated knit pattern for the mom, BUT knowing I’m going to be pressed for time (she’s due in May) AND knowing I sort of have to do ‘catch up’ (being that I just found out yesterday that it’s NOT a girl like she thought, and I already HAD a girl afghan almost done), I’m more swayed towards a very simple pattern. I ‘could’ make more crocheted squares – those go very quickly BUT I want to venture into something I’ve not done before-perhaps a new pattern. Decisions, decisions – too many with too little time! sigh . . .

In my travels today I also noticed the GAS PRICES! Yep, they went UP again! Now, around my area the cheapest gas is $3.89/9 a gallon! OUTRAGEOUS! Not a good thing when I view my weekly travel adventures – lots of driving in store – sigh.

Just checked the weather for our area: right now it’s 30 degrees F., clear but not sunny and the next few days look pretty good, too! YAY! Looks like they’re predicting some snow & rain on Thursday – we’ll see.

Have you ever had a day that seems to surpass bizarre? That’s my day, so far. I decided to work on filling out prescription claim forms for our (old/new) medical prescription company. To explain: We used to have this company years ago, then our insurance carrier changed companies and thus, we didn’t have this company. (my opinion – Goody! They were a pain in the whatevers then – and now we have them back – YUCK!) They require that if you have a drug prescription you take regularly, YOU pay for it at the drug store, then fill out their forms, mail them in and they ‘might’ reimburse you for half, or part of what you paid. The operative word here is: MIGHT. I complained about their policies concerning their forms YEARS ago – let’s just say they haven’t improved ANY! Trying to log onto their site and print out forms was difficult – took MANY attempts. My husband got HIS information cleared, then I attempted to do mine – more problems. We’re talking a good hour or more of all this form filling out, talking to representatives who are SUPPOSED to know what the form is about, etc. VERY FRUSTRATING! Finally succeeded in getting that done – great. (Last lady spoken to said the original representative didn’t clear my old information, hence the problem). An hour or so goes by and we run into an equally frustrating problem with our health insurance coverage! Apparently, for WHO KNOWS WHAT REASON, they didn’t get our last payment and now we’re two months behind! We went through all this a month ago, on line & on phone with them – when the lovely lady looks over our account today she says: “Oh, that account was closed due to lack of funds.” WHAT??? That’s insane! There are no lack of funds! After MUCH time on line & on phone, we finally got that one straightened out – we will be calling them back on Wednesday to MAKE SURE they got the payment! CRAZY! How can these things happen??? (good thing: we didn’t lose coverage of our health benefits during this mess). I’m still in a shocked state over this – don’t understand it AT ALL!

Weather-wise, it’s been rather ‘nice’ – in the 30’s & almost to 40, light rain and windy. At least we don’t have more snow! The roads are clear, my car is clear – good going.

Place whole chicken in crockpot; cover
with about an inch of water. Pour
bottle of BBQ sauce over chicken,
cook on High 4 hours (longer if
chicken is frozen) Remove chicken
from broth, remove meat from bones.
Serve for dinner.
–
SOUP:
Whatever chicken is left, put back into
crockpot, add 2 large and 2 small peeled
& cubed sweet potatoes and 1 can corn.
Cook on High 2 hours.

Well, so much for my ranting – hope the rest of this day goes smoothly.

Enjoy your day,

Hugs;

Pammie

PS: Just ‘one more thing’ – discovered my young friend who’s expecting in May is NOT having a baby GIRL – it’s a boy (that was the Peach afghan I featured last post). Can’t very well give her a peach afghan for a boy, now – can I? Sigh . . .

Here it is 1:40 p.m. and I’m checking the weather report for the day. Last night we got around 4-5 inches of light, fluffy snow – not bad, considering what happened to the East Coast! Here’s a weather report I pulled off of Facebook for our state:

We’re in the purple area but, reading ahead for later today, they’re saying we won’t be getting more than 1 inch extra today. The Wind Chill, however, is something to consider. Average temperature for my area today: 26 degrees F., with a wind chill of around 14 degrees F. – not fun! Glad I only have two very quick ‘runs’ to drive youngest son ‘to’ work and then pick him up later this evening. Also VERY glad his work is only about 5 minutes from our house – YAY! Since we live on a major highway AND his work is also on the same road, the good thing is: the Township keeps it clear! Hope you are able to bundle up, looking at any snow from the inside and don’t have to go out in it or SHOVEL it! (Or, as my dear friend Momma/Mary – drive a tractor to plow the driveway!) It’s a GOOD day to STAY INSIDE!

Finished another baby hat using Bernat Baby Jacquard’s yarn, this time in shades of lavender. This is the self-striping yarn that makes little flower designs on whatever you knit using it. The hats come out very cute (my very favorite color pattern with this yarn is the Pinks – makes such CUTE hats!). Got out the 30 crocheted squares for the baby blanket for my best friend’s daughter; she’s going to be having her second baby – a girl, and she’s naming it after her Grandmother: Felicity. Now that’s a name you don’t hear, often. I knew her Grandmother and her Mother well; I find it interesting that she’s naming her daughter by that name – very old fashioned. I know her Mother would be very proud. This young lady is very much like a Niece to me, as her Mother & I were best friends from age 4; her Mom died about 9 years ago and I miss her greatly. It’s an honor for me to be able to crochet baby things for her baby; she lives one state away and I haven’t seen her since she was about 11 – she’s got to be almost 30 now; we keep in touch by phone. This particular blanket is a copy of one I made for the Detroit Veteran’s hospital baby shower so I’ll just post a photo of that one. I still have to crochet the flower in the middle, then finish by crocheting a border. (Her’s is done in apricot and white squares.)

Casserole can be baked immediately after
assembling; reduce baking time to 30
minutes, uncovering after 20 minutes.

(recipe: Kraft foods)
=================================

Saw a cute plaque photo on Facebook and thought you might find it amusing:

Stay warm, dry and comfy – enjoy your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

=============

Addendum: Just got back from driving youngest son – GAS PRICES HAVE JUMPED 20 CENTS A GALLON OVERNIGHT! So glad I got gas yesterday! The drive wasn’t bad – roads clear, just had to shovel the snow around my car and make a path to the porch. IF this stays this way, we’ll be fine.

Watching and reading the weather reports, we are expected to get 6-8 inches of snow tonight and another 1-3 tomorrow – oh, yay . . . It’s clear out right now (YAY!) and 30 degrees. Today was sunny & clear; most of the snow on the roads & walkways has melted which will be a GOOD thing, should we get more of the white stuff. I’d rather have new snow on top of pavement, than new snow on top of more snow on the driveway, road, etc. (just my opinion).

Last night was my special needs group and we gained another new student – that makes our numbers around 64 students, 2 leaders and 3-4 helpers, not bad. I felt bad for one group home who was bringing four students: 3 in wheelchairs and very handicapped (both mentally and physically) and one ‘average’ special needs student. The average student came in and then I got the report that the lift gate on their van wouldn’t operate; that left two caregivers in a van with three students – for 1 hour 15 minutes! Yes, they could have chosen to just go back to the group home, but they decided to let the one student stay – very impressive! Our students did a Valentine’s craft with the younger kids in the church. We had 28 of our students and about 15 young kids in the room – very noisy, but very nice, too – all involved were having a good time (made me smile just watching them interact together!).

Today was watching my 6 1/2 yr old grandson. First he decided he wanted to play a video game with my middle son (they played about 1/2 hour); then he wanted to play WebKins on my husband’s computer – that lasted about 20 minutes. He had observed my husband playing Backgammon on his computer, so he stated he wanted to learn that, too. Husband informed him that the computer CHEATS, so he got out a regular board version and they played about three games before dinner. By the time this kid is 8 he’ll be very well schooled in all versions of games! Dinner was a fast sit down to sloppy joes and then back to the board – think he had a good time.

Preheat oven 425 degrees F.
Bring ground raisins, 3/4 C. sugar, water &
cornstarch to boil; stirring to keep from
sticking. Add nuts & grated orange peel.
Set aside to cool slightly. Mix together
flour & shortening & salt, stirring until crumbly.
Add water to make dough, using a little more
water if needed. Roll half dough, place into a 9
inch square pan. Spread dough with filling;
cover with other half with dough rolled
very thin. Prick top dough with a fork;
sprinkle top with sugar. Bake until slightly
browned, about 20 minutes. If your oven is
too hot, try 400 degrees F.
Cool completely, cut into bars. Keeps up
to 2 days without refrigeration.

Just got back from picking up youngest son at work – 10:45 p.m. and it’s 30 degrees F. and ALL CLEAR! YAY! (Now, that’s not saying that we won’t get dumped with tons of snow during the night, but I’m very glad to report that all my ‘chickens’ are home safe & sound!)

I, like many others in the area, chose to do a quick stop at the grocery store this afternoon and also to top off my gas tank (it was below quarter tank – not good in cold weather). I decided to put a whole chicken in the crockpot tomorrow and then, with whatever leftover chicken we have, make a small pot of chicken noodle soup with thin egg noodles. That ought to hit the spot in the next few days. Youngest said that his work was pretty busy for a Tuesday – I’m guessing buying extra groceries.

Not much else going on tonight; I’ll probably play some What Word on my computer (great game of spelling various words at timed paces), then go to bed. Hope you’re in a ‘good place’ weather-wise; try to stay inside (if it’s cold outside), wrap up in something cozy, maybe read a good book, drink something nice & warm (like cocoa with little marshmallows!) and enjoy your evening.

Hello! Not much going on around here (at least, not much NEW). Last night was my church Ladie’s Fellowship gathering – nice evening – theme: appetizers and there was a large variety! I wasn’t sure exactly what to make (or buy) so I looked up a recipe from my own blog – made it and it seemed to be a hit!

While they were baking my guys kept saying: “Are we having pizza for dinner?” Comment from me – I was surprised that they stuck to the pan after cooling. I like the idea that I can whip together a ‘sort of’ pizza snack without having to buy a pizza crust! I must say, last night’s appetizers certainly were unique: one lady brought tater tots (1 each) with a slice of jalapeno, then wrapped in a bacon strip – she said they normally deep fry them but her sister bakes them, so that’s what she did. They were ‘different’ – I think they needed to be fried, the bacon didn’t quite taste fully cooked. There were stuffed mushroom caps, salmon balls, red pepper hummus & blue corn chips, the layered mexican dip, a cranberry/cream cheese dip with jalapeno in it! (they were served with very thin sliced pretzels – I’m sure you buy them commercially made). One lady brought tiny ham & cheese sandwiches that reminded me of White Castle ‘sliders’ – she said she bought the buns (never seen then that small before!). All in all, it was a very nice ladies night out.

Have you noticed the GAS PRICES lately? Around here, about a week ago, we went from $3.49/9 to $3.69/9, then back down somewhere in the middle – now it’s staying at $3.69/9. There was an article in our local paper about that very thing – saying that the price rise is due to some refineries going out of business; sure hope this isn’t a TREND of the FUTURE! I was really hoping for the prices to drop some – SOON!

Food-wise, did you do any Super Bowl foods/appetizers? Around here, even with 3 guys in residency, they never watched the game; I was at church (choir & evening church). For evening service we had a young man from our church give his account of his stay in China. He & his new wife went there for jobs – they are American Language consultants! No, they don’t speak the language; he read about the job openings and applied, not thinking they would be accepted! (they are both college graduates). They live in a small apartment close to a city and commute by subway, bus or walking. He mentioned that the college students they tutor LOVE having American nick names – one of his students said: “My name is Glutamine” – too funny. In their culture, they chose names from nature – trees, flowers, etc. and I guess he thought that Glutamine was a ‘natural’ sounding name – who knows!? It was nice getting to see our friend (he used to be in the church choir – really sweet young man) and also seeing his new wife. They’re not here for long, so it was good hearing about their adventures in China!

That’s about it for now – been ‘knee deep’ in paperwork these past few days, attempting to update pages & pages of data both from my special needs group (I’m the group Secretary/keeper of all information) and the knit group (addresses/phone #’s and email addresses). Just when I think I’ve finally caught up – someone usually tells me: “Oh, I have a new phone number!” Never fails! Oh well – it’s my ‘job’! For example, right now we have 63 students in the special needs group. There are 106 members in the knit group (although not all of them attend regularly). Lots of raw ‘data’.

Tonight’s knit group and I promised my guys I’d make pizza – or, as it’s termed in my house: HMP (I think it stands for Home Made Pizza – but they say it stands for Her Majesty’s Pizza – works either way! Reminds me of when I was going through radiation – the desk clerk used to always call me: “Princess Pammie” – too funny!

How’s your weather holding up? It’s been in the tiny digits for days now – with wind chills close to zero – makes for some really FAST moving from warm car to building! Right now it says it’s a ‘balmy’ 22 degrees and expecting some snow around 4 p.m. – oh goody. We’ve had snow ‘flurries’ every day now – light, fluffy stuff but it makes for driving a bit ‘dicey’ – slippery at times, patches of it at stoplights – makes for turning corners ‘no fun’. Oh well – it’s MICHIGAN – why am I surprised? I remember saying to the druggist this morning that at least it’s not the heavy WET snow – this stuff we can walk & drive through. I bought new winter boots last month and still haven’t worn them – not enough snow to bother with! YAY!

On that note, I think I’ll close – STAY WARM (if you’re in a cold climate, that is – ) and remember to do something nice for yourself!